Carol Burke

Name: Carol Burke

Gender: Female

Age: 18

Grade: 12

School: Bayview Secondary School

Hobbies and Interests: Video games, cooking, card games, ice skating

Appearance: Carol keeps her hair in a short boyish style, and dyed black. Her natural hair color is a light brown, and can be seen in her thin eyebrows. However, in the past it has been dyed various other colors, some of which don’t occur in nature.

She has a rounded face, with large, wide brown eyes, that seemingly become wider thanks to her mascara. Carol has a small, round nose, and she normally wears makeup, including the aforementioned mascara, and lip-gloss on her thick lips. Carol also has both ears pierced, and usually wears star-shaped stud earrings.

It would seem that a lot of Carol’s outfits are hand-me-downs, as she is often wearing baggy shirts and jeans that apparently came from various family members. Sometimes, the sleeves of her shirt are too long for her, and as a result her hands become obscured. However, her older sister gave her a plain red zip-up hoodie for Christmas one year, completely new. It is her favorite article of clothing that she owns, and she wears it as much as possible. She also wears slightly worn out sneakers.

Carol is 5’6, with a weight of 150. Also, notably she has been mistaken for a male on a number of occasions, despite her having a mostly feminine appearance (this is possibly due to her hairstyle and outfit choices). This does not seem to bother her too much, as she seems amused whenever people confuse her for a boy. She has a light pink skin tone, as well. She sometimes has a few minor injuries on her hands (mostly small burns and cuts) from cooking.

Biography: Carol was not born in St. Paul, but in Carson City, Nevada; the second child in her family. Her older sister (by three years) often played card games with her once both of them got old enough to understand the rules, and Carol herself often insisted on showing the other kids at her school how to play the ones she knew.

Carol made three good friends at school, and the group was very close-knit. It was rare to see them separated during recess, or to see a week where they were not at each other’s houses. As always, Carol insisted on playing card games, but would play video games with the other children, soon developing a fondness for those also.

She was particularly fond of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and would occasionally take the control and try to figure out how to fight a boss, or solve a puzzle. Sometimes, they would find a few arcade game machines, and put quarters in it to play. Carol and another girl in the group were particularly fond of fighting games, and would challenge each other to a fight. Eventually, her parents decided to give her a game console of her own when she got older; a PlayStation 2, with all the things it needed (up to this point, she played at a friend’s house). She and her friends played on it very often, as one would expect. Although in the present she has played other consoles, PlayStations remain her favorite.

Another thing she grew fond of was cooking. Carol took a culinary class over the summer in 7th grade, and found that she liked working in the kitchen. To this day, she’s always looking for new recipes, and often cooks for her friends and family. Her favorite thing to make is deviled eggs, and often has them as part of her lunch. Another thing she likes to make is homemade pizza, with pepperoni and olives.

In 8th grade, her family went to Lake Tahoe, and Carol felt she needed to show off, by swimming far out into the lake. However, she found herself too far out, and started drowning. It took a lifeguard several minutes to get her out, as she was panicking, and had trouble calming down, even several hours later. To this day, she has a fear of swimming, to the point where she used to sit out when other students were in the pool. However, in recent history she once gathered up the courage to get in the pool, but remained firmly at the shallow end, and rarely went underwater.

At the end of 11th grade, she found out that her family had to move to St. Paul. Carol grew somewhat melancholic at the idea of leaving her friends and everything she grew up with behind. But her optimistic nature kicked in, and she told herself that St. Paul might turn out to be a good place for her to be in the long run, and she could try to keep in contact with her friends.

When she told her group of friends about the matter, they all grew sad at the idea. But, they had a small going away party, where they did something unusual, but it meant a lot to Carol. They took the Joker, her favorite card, out of her main deck that she liked to use, and each one of the group, Carol included, wrote their name on it, with “BFF” at the bottom. She now smiles whenever she uses the deck, and sees that card as she’s playing. They also all made a promise; once they all graduated, they would make attempts to see each other again, and socialize like they used to. Carol plans on following through with this, and hopes it can be achieved.

Although she still grows nostalgic whenever she thinks of Carson City, she started socializing normally in St. Paul. Carol was a little shy at first, but she soon made a few new friends at her school. She is not exactly “popular”, but she is friendly, and well liked by several students. However, she has stayed in contact with her childhood friends, through the use of phones, instant messaging, and various online games that they would play with each other, Maple Story being a favorite. Sometimes, she would play with both her classmates and her old friends, introducing them to each other. She still has her love of both card and video games, and still likes playing them with others. Carol sometimes references games she’s played in normal conversation, and loves asking if other people have played the same games she has.

She has also acquired another interest in St. Paul. Carol started taking ice skating classes on a whim, and although she fell down a lot initially, she has shown progress. Sometimes, however, she does not pay attention, and falls down, occasionally taking other people with her. She spends a fair amount of time practicing, in hopes that her skills will improve one day.

Carol can be considered an optimist, as she always tries to look at the better side of life when she’s feeling down. She is almost always cheerful and energetic, to the point where it sometimes spreads to other people, and they get the same amount of energy, as well. Carol also tends to speak a little fast as a result of her energy, and sometimes it becomes hard to figure out what she’s trying to say. However, she is not always this happy; she has been known to show rage and frustration when playing a tough spot in a game she is playing on occasion, and sometimes snaps at others even if they are trying to help her out of that spot.

She has been known to be a bit of a “space cadet”, as the term is sometimes used to define her. Carol has been known to not pay attention, and lose track of important details, such as class work that needs to be done. As a result, she often requires the help of others to remember what needs to be done, and what doesn’t. She has also been known to hurt herself on accident because she was thinking of something else, as well. This has annoyed some of her classmates on occasion.

Another trait of her character is that she believes in always standing up for your friends, and that good friends will be there for each other no matter what. Multiple times people have tried to tell her that things don’t always work out, and sometimes people get manipulated. But, she keeps this belief, and hasn’t been confronted by the reality of it, whether it is true or a lie that she tells herself. However, she has been referred to as having a “sheep mentality”, as she sometimes just follows the group and does what they are doing, without thinking about the consequences.

Carol is making plans to go to a culinary school, and to become a cook. As of this moment, she is looking at what kind of schools teach the culinary arts, and what she needs to go there. She hopes that she can succeed in her goals, and not have to worry about doing something in life that she does not desire to do. Currently, she works at a local movie rental store, and although it tires her out fairly often, Carol actually seems to enjoy it, to some extent.

Carol currently lives with both her parents, along with her cat, in an apartment, while her older sister is in New York, studying to be a lawyer.

Advantages: Carol is an optimist, and often sees the good side of everything, while remaining cheerful. In addition, she is very friendly, making it easy for her to acquire allies as a result. She is also remarkably loyal to her allies.

Disadvantages: Carol tends to space out and not pay attention, which can prove to be a problem in the scheme of things. Also, although her loyalty to her friends can be helpful in some scenarios, she believes true friends will not betray each other, no matter the circumstances, and may allow herself to be easily manipulated and/or betrayed. She also has a fear of drowning, and in the rare case where she might have to swim she could have problems.

---

Designated Number: Female Student no. 015

Designated Weapon: Mossberg 500 Cruiser (load capacity: 8 shells, x16 shells provided) Conclusion: DING DING DI-oh wait....loyal....easily manipulated...true friends won't betray each other!?! I was almost going to staple girl 015 as a sure fire contender but nope, sorry guys Minne Mouse seems to have drawn the shotgun, nothing to see here!

'The above biography is as written by KamiKaze. No edits or alterations to the author's original work have been made.'

Evaluations
Handled by: KamiKaze

Kills: None

Killed By: Reiko Ishida with a chain

Collected Weapons: Mossberg 500 Cruiser (designated; to Reiko Ishida after death)

Allies: Kari Nichols, Rein Bumgarner, Simon Grey, Reiko Ishida. Presumably the rest of The Entourage.

Enemies: Kris Hartmann, Etain Brennan, Maxwell Lombardi, Rizzo Vitoria, Reiko Ishida

Mid-game Evaluation: Carol started her game at the beach, and started panicking at the sight of all the water around her. Kari Nichols, thinking she was in danger, quickly arrived on the scene, offering to take Carol away from the water. Carol reacted with more panic and confusion upon seeing her gun, still thinking she was on the trip. Kari tried her best to calmly explain the situation to her, and Carol grew upset at her situation. After Rein Bumgarner and Simon Grey showed up, Kari attempted to tell them everything was alright, and Carol tried her best to talk with them. The group made plans to go to The Parish, and then The Warehouse, and soon started heading out.

The group was seen again at the start of Day 2, resting. Carol was in tears after finding out about the deaths of Reika Ishida, Paige Single, and Amber Whimsy, and Reiko Ishida's two kills. After conversing with Simon and Rein a bit, Hermione Miller showed up, and started talking to them. Carol expressed frustration with Hermione's seemingly happy demeanor, while Simon tried his best to defuse the situation. Hermione, after realizing that no one would take her seriously, committed suicide by collar detonation. Carol, who was in shock, fled the scene, with Simon in close pursuit.

After a bit more walking, she came across Reiko fighting against Kris Hartmann and Etain Brennan. After a bit of hesitation, she went in and interrupted the scene by pointing her gun at Reiko's two opponents. Kris and Etain fled the scene, and Carol expressed concern over Reiko's injuries. Simon asked Carol about whether or not they could trust her, but Maxwell Lombardi entered the scene and started shooting at them. Simon and Carol hid behind the truck, while Reiko tried her best to join them. Simon grabbed Reiko and pulled her behind, but was shot in the leg, insisting that the two girls left without him. Carol hesitated, but grabbed Reiko and fled.

The two girls ended up on the greens, Reiko avoiding Carol out of mistrust. She offered to look at her wounds, but Reiko rejected her ideas. After hearing a few noises, she grabbed her gun and went to investigate, accidentally letting it fire out of poor gun safety and shooting Rizzo Vitoria in the leg. In shock, she could only watch as Reiko walked up and calmly kill Rizzo to spare him. After talking with Reiko a bit, she attempted to convince her to find Ben Powell, Jacob Charles, and Sarah Xu, and to make an escape attempt. Reiko refused her ideas, and Carol decided to take her stuff and leave. After reaching her bags, though, she reconsidered and decided she wanted to stay with Reiko. Only seconds later, she was pounced from behind and strangled to death by Reiko with a chain from off her wallet.

Post-Game Evaluation: You know, there was a reason why we showed these kids that clip of good old Emma. And yet, some people never learn. Oh well, these kind of people are always expected! Here's to hoping we'll get another Emma or Carol next version, haha!

Memorable Quotes:

"KARI! Kari, I just woke up here and there was lots of water and I think Monty did it since he had to screw with the new kid before everything is over and I don't know where I am or if the teachers are looking for me or OHSHITWHYDOYOUHAVEAGUN?!"- Oh Carol, how little you know...

''"Reiko... It's... it's not hopeless. We're NOT going to die here. We're going to be saved by the military, they know things. Everyone who died... Paige? Reika? Amber? Simon? They're not going to die in vain. That guy... he can't get away with this a fourth time. They have a bunch of information right now, right in the Whitehouse. Plus, there has to be a loophole somewhere, right? He seemed pretty confident.... and... We're going to make it. Not everyone is going to die here. Reiko, we can find Jacob, Ben, and Sarah, and we can escape. Never look back. It's what I want. Reiko, it's not hopeless. You don't have to fight anymore. I know what happened with those people, I heard on the announcement. But you know what? You know what? I trust you. I did wonder at times whether or not you did it on purpose to be honest. But, this entire time... this entire time... I thought you were still good, deep down. You're my friend, right? I could never see you doing those things on purpose. But, you don't have to fight anymore. I made a promise to myself to keep you safe. You just have to trust me. You can do that, right? Promise me we'll make it. Please? Both of us will make it, and so will Sarah, Jacob, and Ben if we just find them. You just have to have hope..." ''- Carol gives Reiko the motherload of the dreaded friendship speech

"You know, you're not as strong as you think you are. Sometimes you need help. I'm... I'm just going to get our things and head on out."- Last words. T_T

Other/Trivia

 * In early plans for the character, she was originally going to be a straight-up crossdresser, either FtM or MtF. However, her handler chickened out before the profile was written, thinking that she would not be able to write it well, and thus the idea was scrapped almost completely.
 * Her red hoodie was simply because her handler likes to abuse symbolism, and decided to reference Little Red Riding Hood. The idea of Carol losing or damaging it at some point to suggest a loss of innocence was considered, but never came to fruition.
 * Originally, she and Aileen Borden were going to be her handler's only characters, and thus Carol was originally written with this in mind, being deliberately the exact opposite of Aileen (optimism to Aileen's pessimism, extroversion to her introversion, tomboyish personality to her somewhat girly personality, and so on). However, this later changed when her handler created Anna Chase, and much later Remy Kim.
 * She is a member of The Entourage . In fact, as revealed in the Memories From The Past thread "The One With The New Kid", the Entourage were among the first characters she had interacted with when she first started going to Bayview.
 * The names of her Nevadan friends were revealed to be Alan, Whitney, and Jake (not to be confused with fellow Entourage member Jacob Charles).

Threads
Memories from the Past:
 * Candy Corn And Alcopops
 * The One With The New Kid

Pre-Game:
 * Test of Courage
 * The Throwdown
 * Girls Just Wanna Have Fun
 * The Dance Must Go On!

v4
 * Under The Sea Is Where No One Wants To Be
 * Missing Those Lost
 * Lean On Me
 * Thank You For Being A Friend

Your Thoughts
''Whether you were a fellow handler in SOTF or just an avid reader of the site, we'd like to know what you thought about Carol Burke. What did you like, or dislike, about the character? Let us know here!''

Ah yes, Carol. The one character I didn't realize just how much I liked until she got rolled. Honestly, I'm glad she's coming back for Second Chances. The times I was able to write her in pre-game were entertaining; I could remember smiling a bit as I wrote about her and her... enthusiasm. I do wish she got more character development once she made it to in-game, but what can you do? It's what Second Chances is for, obviously. But she was a genuinely fun character, overall, and it kind of interests me just how much her death impacted her killer and in what ways. Needless to say, speaking as her handler? Carol deserves to come back in Second Chances, simply because she was genuinely fun for me to write.- KamiKaze